Innovations for achieving the 2050 sustainability challenge for creating net zero emissions & livable healthy cities

How to meet the 2050 challenge to achieve sustainable net zero emissions in cities

1. The challenge

Buildings and construction globally are responsible for 39% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGE's) with 20% in New Zealand.    Collectively, the energy used by buildings produces more pollution than transport and industry.  There are high GHGE's for 'upfront' carbon emissions associated with materials, the construction process, heating and cooling processes, lighting, maintenance, fits outs, renovations and demolition. 

The majority now live in cities. Population numbers will explode by 2050 to 9.27 billion necessitating innovations to feed and house everyone. 

Skyscrapers provide vertical living (e.g, the Shard Building, London and the John Hancock Centre in Chicago where many thousands of people live, work and relax in one building), these are a Vertical Cities within a city (VC) however the design has high GHGE's. 

Resilient cities require locally sourced, nutritious, fresh, safe food with wastes turned into fuel.

2. Urban farming is the key sustainable element for livable cities 

Urban Farming and Urban Agriculture and Urban Gardening are the key sustainability element to be included for a sustainable city.  To fix the 'broken food system' food must be grown locally and not be trucked into cities to end "food mileage issues". 

Urban agriculture is the growing and raising of plants, livestock and other products in or around urban areas including the CBD.  It includes a diversity of activities of food production, processing and distribution of food to local people including beekeeping, fisheries, aquaculture (e.g, seaweed, seafood & IMTA), forestry (e.g, community forestry, social forestry, agroforestry, farm based forestry, forest gardens and food forest co-living), fuel production (e.g, biofuels, biodiseals & biomass) and reuse of urban wastes.

Urban farming provides waste management, employment opportunities, recreational space preserving soil and ecosystems.   Many species breed together well and grow alongside trees. 

Urban Farming is not just land based, food and plants can be vertically grown without soil inside a building or under a building under lights in basement areas, on a rooftop or mobile (e.g, growing food and plants in shipping containers, on backs of vehicles in containers such as utes to get to where people need it, and can be  grown off grid),  in the air and in water and the ocean. Floating farms are a trending particularly for densely populated cities near waterways.

Urban farming maximises the use of land (e.g, over roof, balconies, underutilized ares, public spaces, under bridges, grass verges and on roundabouts). Growing methods are innovative, intensive and vertical. Plants can be grown with soil and without soil.

With soil methods include regenerative agriculture, agroecology,  permaculture and paperpot methods are  productive . Adding forestry in with agriculture and livestock increases sustainability.  

Without soil there are 3 main growing methods: Hydroponics (including the Dr Kratky method), aeroponics and aquaponics (including with integrating multiple species in closed loop systems using organic methods). 

Urban agriculture promotes self sufficiency especially in salads which can be grown in a home garden from a backyard no matter how small, on apartments patios, window boxes and in pots inside hydroponically.   

 "Everyone should be able to grow their own food, even on concrete". (Quote: Urban Farming expert Linda Good Bryant from Projects Eats (PE), New York ).  

Urban agriculture on a citywide scale is transformative engaging community spirit and creates an edible city. 

3. Radical acts of gardening transform neglected urban areas 

Radical acts of gardening revitalize decayed and disinvested areas, inspiring hope, reinvestment that create employment opportunities. Community Gardens and Guerrilla Gardening bring back trees, plants and flowers to the city beautifying the concrete jungle allowing  protection against austerity making fresh nutritious food accessible building social cohesion.  

4. Vertical skyscrapper cities & vertical forest cities must be partnered with ubran gardening, urban farming & urban agriculture  & biophilic structure design

For VC's, VFS's and VFC's to be sustainable cities requires partnership with Urban agriculture often referred to as Urban Farming and Urban Gardening in building and city design.

Urban Gardening is essential for growing and maintaining plants in VFC's and organic pest control (e.g, to avoid VFC's being overrun by mosquitoes to avoid illness).

Developing 'ecocities' with food production by Vertical Farming within cities will achieve sustainability. 

Urban agriculture is innovative, adaptive to local needs embraces emerging technologies including artificial intelligence systems

5. Developing sustainable buildings, floating structures & cities that grow food

To develop sustainable cities, the way buildings are constructed, used and powered must  also change.

A revolution is necessary to achieve net zero. The World Green Building Council believes it is possible. Innovative solutions for cities include developing Vertical cities (VC's which are skyscrapers) with Vertical Forest Skyscrapers (VFS's) and Vertical Forest Cities (VFC"s) from sustainable construction materials provide the built solution to get to net zero along with planting trees everywhere. 

Floating cities and floating farms respond to climate issues. 

 'Smart Floating Farms' (SFF"s) offers solutions to feed the world. 

6. Include Architectural Innovations in buildings & urban design

Architectural innovations include 'biophilic' design combined with 'biomimicry' (systems inspired by nature adapted to buildings). This includes edible walls, rooftops and verges. Trees reduces air pollution, soak up carbon, purifies the air and combat flood risks. When scaled citywide combined with Urban Agriculture  and Vertical Farming  will meet the 2050 sustainability challenge. 

7. Biophilic design develops edible cities 

Singapore leads in 'biophilic' design and Urban Farming (UF) transforming its city into an edible garden. High-rises double as greenhouses growing domestic produce. UF is city wide. There is commercial demand for quality organic produce. 

8. Floating Solar farms and Wind farms on water 

China has developed the world's largest solar park on water able to power 50% of the world's cities, proving employment and nutritious food for locals.  

Wind turbine farms are also on water. 

Small effective land wind turbines without blades have been developed for safe home use around people and animals.  

9. Bladeless turbines for vertical city skyscrapers

A huge bladeless wind turbine Skyscraper is providing vertical city living combining multiple technologies of solar, rainwater capture, wetland water filtering, wind energy, management of organic waste and "smart skin" for climate management and natural ventilation. 

10. Developing floating airports connected to cities 

Japan has building a floating airport on a manmade island connected to the city.

11. Developing energy islands

Denmark is developing an energy island. 

12. Powering cities with waste to energy technologies 

There is potential for future cities to be powered by waste to energy technologies (e.g, see plans for the futurist City of Luxton).

 The end

Note: This is an updated format on 1 November 2022 of the published blog of 8 May 2022 for  discussion